Warning of ‘bleak’ winter outlook

Parties met with the head of the Province’s civil service Jayne Brady at Stormont Castle yesterday amid the ongoing political impasse.

The DUP has blocked the formation of a new Executive since May’s Assembly election in protest at the NI Protocol.

If a new power-sharing administration is not in place within six months of the election, the UK government assumes a legal responsibility to call a fresh poll within the following three months.

Finance Minister Conor Murphy described as “unacceptable” the ongoing absence of a functioning Executive during the cost-of-living crisis.

“We’re facing into a situation where, at the end of October, even in the caretaker capacity that we are now in, we will be out of that as ministers … so effectively left in the midst of this crisis…

“We’ll be left with absolutely nobody at the wheel in this institution whatsoever,” he told reporters at Stormont Castle.

“That’s an unacceptable situation.”

Mr Murphy said he challenged DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson to “give some sense of when they intend to allow the rest of us to form an Executive”.

“We can’t get any sense of clarity in relation to that,” he said.

Sir Jeffrey hit back, accusing Sinn Fein of “not listening” and engaging in a summer of “poke a unionist in the eye”.

“I’m not going to be poked in the eye by Sinn Fein, I will do what I believe is the right thing to do – I will stand by the word I gave to the people of Northern Ireland,” he said.

“I want this protocol resolved. I want to see decisive action taken. We need to see decisive action taken to resolve the very real difficulties that the protocol is causing for Northern Ireland, not least the impact it is having on the cost of living.

“Our position is very clear on that. We sought a mandate for our position, we received a mandate for it and I stand by what we said.”

He said support will come from Westminster and the new prime minister next week will announce further measures to support hard-pressed households across the UK.

UUP leader Doug Beattie described a “pretty sobering meeting”.

He said they discussed what they could do if there was a fully functioning Executive, adding that even in that scenario there was a “bleak outlook”.

“My call is for whoever the new prime minister is going to be, they’ll have a full in-tray, but one of those items that needs to be pushed up higher is the Northern Ireland Protocol because we need it dealt with, and we need it dealt with quickly, so that we can get our Executive up and running again, and try and start dealing with some of these issues we are dealing with,” he said.

“We are in unprecedented times. We’re going to need a prime minister to make unprecedented decisions, but first and foremost we need an Executive up and running right now so that we can do some business here to try and help people.

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long described a “sombre read out” in terms of the state of the economy and challenges being faced.

“The winter looks bleak for many people … The onus is on the DUP and the incoming government to resolve their issues in a way that respects the opinions of all of the parties in Northern Ireland and in a way that allows us to get the Executive up and running”